Poppies Flashcards
Who wrote Poppies
Jane Weir
What is Poppies about
a mother describes her son leaving home seemingly to join the army, the poem is about the mother’s emotional reaction to her son leaving and she feels lonely and scared for his safety, she describes helping him smarten his uniform ready to leave and after he leaves she goes to places that remind her of him, trying to find any trace of him
What is the form of Poppies
first person narrative - strong impression of the mother’s emotion, no regular rhyme scheme or rhythm - narrator’s thoughts and memories, long sentences and enjambment - narrator is absorbed in hir own thoughts and memories whilst casura show how she tries to hold her emotions together
What is the structure of Poppies
chronological - son preparing to leave, his departure and what she does afterwards, the time frame is ambiguous - memories of his son’s childhood are intermingled with memories of him leaving
What is the use of senses of Poppies
mother’s separation from her son is emphasised by the way she cannot touch or hear him, she touches other things and listens for his voice ‘on the wind’ but it cannot replace her son, ‘graze my nose’ - mother longs for the closeness that they had, ‘I traced’ - touch is important the memorial is a solid object unlike her memories, ‘hoping to hear’ - echoes the way she is straining to hear him
What is the war imagery of Poppies
images of war and violence symbolise the son’s new identity and the danger that he is in, references to ‘Armistice Sunday’ and the ‘war memorial’ makes the reader question whether she is still alive, ‘individual war graves’ - reminder that war is dangerous and kills individuals so loss in personal, ‘single dove’ - sign of peace but also mourning,
What is the domestic imagery of Poppies
the images of war are mixed with poignant images if home and family life, ‘a treasure chest’ - simile shows the world from the son’s perspective and makes it sound fun and precious, ‘tucks, darts, pleats’ - sewing imagery conveys her nervousness and feeling of anxiety
What are the feelings and attitudes of Poppies
loss - the mother acts as if she is lost her son - she is struggling to move on and accept the changes, there are hints that the son may even be dead, references to the son starting school allude to a different kind of loss that the mother has previously experienced, fear - the mother is anxious and fearful for her son’s safety, her anxiety has a physical effect on her, the poem focuses on the bravery and restraint of the people left behind when their loved ones go to war, freedom - there is also contrasting views on the loss the mother feels and the freedom and excitement for the son
What are the themes of Poppies
effects of conflict, loss and absence, memory, negative emotions - fear, identity, individual experience
What language/techniques does Poppies have
use of senses, war imagery, domestic imagery
